​GOOD MORNING INDIA!

​​WEEKLY NEWS UPDATES IN INFRASTRUCTURE SECTOR

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) should have more powers to fast-track road projects while expressing unhappiness over its overall performance.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu today his ministry has drawn up a mission to save Rs 41,000 crore on electricity energy bills over the next ten years by betting big on solar energy, even as it expects to mop-up Rs 17,000 crore through non-fare revenue modes.

Indian Railways is considering ending state-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd’s (Sail) virtual monopoly on supplying steel for standard rail tracks, opening up annual purchases worth up to $700 million to the private sector, people close to the matter told Reuters.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is on the job to finish five expressway projects, including Rs4,428-crore Eastern Peripheral Expressway, to decongest Delhi, Parliament was informed on Thursday.

China’s second-largest construction company is competing with at least six international builders, including two each from Japan and Korea, for $2.7 billion worth of contracts to build the largest road bridge in India.

The ambitious multi-modal transport hub construction project of Surat railway station, slated to begin last year, received nine bids by interested developers even as authorities have advanced the bidding dates to April 15, 2017.

After the J&K State Cable Car Corporation (JKSCCC) cancelled its controversial tender having change in the nomenclature of the Mubarak Mandi–Bahu Fort Cable Car Project to the Mubarak Mandi-Shahabad Project

In a likely breather to Container Freight Station (CFS) operators which otherwise ran the risk of losing massive amounts of business, the customs department at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) has put out a tender calling for bids for CFSs to be part of the operations in the new Direct Port Delivery regime that the Narendra Modi government is trying to implement

Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL), India’s largest largest public sector shipyard, is planning to raise about Rs. 1,400-1,500 crore through an initial public offering (IPO) and has filed initial papers with the marker regulator. On completion of a successful IPO, CSL will become the first of five state-owned shipbuilding companies to be publicly listed.

The Centre has given in principle approval to upgrade 57,500 km of state highways to national highways so as to augment the existing 1.13 lakh km of NHs across the country, Parliament was informed today.

Four Indian cities are among the cheapest to live in globally, while Singapore has been ranked as the most expensive for the fourth consecutive year, as per a report by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

The Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) is likely to postpone its demerger plan to the next financial year. The company has moved the Bombay High Court, which is hearing its scheme of arrangement, seeking a change in the effective date of plan to April 1 this year.

The government today approved Rs 6,721-crore projects in Meghalaya and Mizoram for development of 403 kms of National Highways. “The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval for development of 403 kms of National Highways in Meghalaya and Mizoram,” a statement from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said after the CCEA meeting.

The government will reissue tenders for the strategic Zojila pass tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir by April and work on the Rs 6,000-crore project will commence by August, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said today.

All major Indian ports will have to undergo an audit to become ‘Green’ and ‘Swachh’. The Union shipping ministry has conducted a pilot study at Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT), which saw the over 70% compliance. The remaining 11 major ports will also undergo the audit

Helped primarily by a steep fall in raw material costs but also with a more rigorous reining in of employee costs, India’s central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) posted a decent 12.5% growth in aggregate net profit in 2015-16, even as their gross turnover declined 7%, according to the latest survey tabled in Parliament on Tuesday

Over 400 train stations in India have free WiFi services, thanks to the venture between Indian Railways and Google. Indian Railways has grown by leaps and bounds in the past couple of years, and continues to follow the latest trends.